1. Field of the Invention
Marine outdrive assemblies including inboard/outboard drives, gasoline powered outboard motors and electric trolling motors, etc. include lower units incorporating horizontally elongated and front-to-rear extending housing portions having front and rear ends. The rear ends of the housing portions include at least substantially cylindrical terminal ends centrally from which the rear ends of propeller shafts project upon which marine propellers are removably mounted. The marine propellers include hub portions whose forward ends are substantially cylindrical and of substantially the same diameter as the aforementioned rear terminal ends of the housing portions. The propeller hubs usually are spaced slightly rearward of the lower unit housing portion rear terminal ends and it is possible for foreign material such as seaweed strands, fishing lines, steel fishing leaders and other small diameter lines to pass through the spacing between the rear terminal ends of, the lower unit housing portions and the forward ends of the associated propeller hubs.
The instant invention resides in the provision of a cylindrical sleeve having front and rear ends telescoped over the rear terminal end of an outdrive lower unit housing portion and the opposing forward end of an associated propeller hub with the sleeve front end stationarily mounted from the lower unit housing portion rear terminal end and the rear end of the sleeve closely rotatably receiving the front end of the associated propeller hub therein.
2. Description of Related Art
Various different forms of lower unit weed guards and fish line cutters including some of the general structural and operational features of the instant invention heretofore have been provided. In -addition, projective casings for the lower units of an outboard drives also have been heretofore designed.
An example of a lower unit protective casing is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,795 and examples of weed guards for outboard drives are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,802,377, 3,859,953, 4,013,033 and 4,070,984 while U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,361 discloses a fish line cutter.
However, all of the above-mentioned prior patents utilize relatively large and expensive structures for accomplishing their intended function and the instant invention utilizes only a simple sleeve member in addition to mounting means therefor. Further, the sleeve member of, the instant invention may be used in conjunction with substantially all outdrive units and may be manufactured in different sizes for use on substantially any outdrive unit.
Further, the sleeve of the instant invention may be constructed of various different materials including metals and plastics, and if a plastic is used in the construction of the sleeve with adhesive means used to mount the sleeve on an associated outdrive lower unit housing portion and it subsequently becomes necessary to remove the sleeve, the sleeve may be readily cut from the out drive lower unit housing portion and inexpensively replaced.